


Saving the Company (or not)

by Sketch_A_Bow



Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Bofur is here to save the day, Caring Bofur, Dense Thorin, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Frustrated Bella, Helpful Kili, Kili has a plan, Kili's plan fails horribly, Ori tries to help, Sexual Frustration, Sweet Bofur, Thorin 'King of mood swings' Oakenshield, Thorin always has to mess stuff up, and the damsel, but isn't really what Bella needs at the moment, but that's okay, but that's pretty usual
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-05
Updated: 2014-09-05
Packaged: 2018-02-16 07:02:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2260368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sketch_A_Bow/pseuds/Sketch_A_Bow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bella needs help and Kili thinks he has the perfect plan... but things don't go to plan. Not that Bella minds.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Saving the Company (or not)

          “I’m just…” Bella let out a frustrated growl, pulling at her hair. “I feel so incredibly lonely right now, and if I don’t find someone to snog me in the next ten minutes I feel like I might just burrow under a blanket and smother myself!” With this dramatic exclamation, she flopped over onto her back.

 

                Kili patted her knee sympathetically. “Well, there are plenty of elves around. Maybe you could find one who was a bit adventurous?”

 

                Leaning up on her elbows, Bella scrunched up her nose at the idea. “I dunno, they’re so tall and gangly… it would be almost more work than it’s worth to reach everything.”

 

                Taking on the challenge, her conspirator tilted his head in consideration. Suddenly smirking, Kili leapt up without a word of explanation and took off.

 

          “Where are you going?” Bella cried in indignation.

 

          “Saving the Company!”  Kili called over his shoulder, making a beeline for his brother.

 

                Looking after him in confusion, the hobbit didn’t waste much time worrying about what harebrained scheme he had gotten distracted with now. She was far too busy bemoaning her single status.

 

 

     Thoroughly exhausted  from angsting, Bella eventually fell into a fitful sleep where she lay, and awoke to a scrambling departure from Rivendell. Sleeping alone for another night hadn’t improved the situation much, but now was hardly the time to fuss over it. Truly it was a shame to leave such a lovely place, but Bella was sure she was the only one to hold this opinion, as she watched Thorin repeatedly throw scathing looks over his shoulder.

 

     Fili rather startled her when he popped up next to her shoulder, and his wide grin promised nothing but trouble.

 

          “Hello Bella. Just thought I would stop and see how you were this morning, my brother shared with me your tale of woe.”

 

          She snorted to herself. “Well you can tell your brother I’m fine thanks, and that maybe he should try chewing some treacle berries to keep his big mouth shut.”

 

          “Oh come now! He simply has your best interests at heart.” Fili put on a sad, reproachful look that Bella didn’t buy for one moment.

 

          “Oh is that quite right? I’m sure you are both so concerned, just as you were that night when you sent me off to take on trolls all by myself, hmm?”

 

          Fili’s pleading look turned into a grimace, and it cheered her up markedly. “We are never gonna live that down, are we? Well, we can keep trying to atone for our mistakes. In fact, Kili had asked me to come back and gather you. He thought walking up front with us might take your mind off your troubles.”

 

     There was really no outcome in which walking with the brothers would end well, but Bella knew they would refuse to fail in their mission. Heaving a great sigh, she followed a smug Fili towards the front of the line.

 

 

     And got placed right next to Thorin ‘King of mood swings’ Oakenshield for her troubles. It was uncomfortable to say the least. Fili and Kili, for once, refused to carry on a conversation, leaving her trapped in awkward silence and the brooding shadow of their leader. He would cast his gaze down at her, mostly when she would stumble over a loose stone in the path, and gave off the air of wanting very much to be anywhere else but there. Then Kili seemed to keep steering into her side, forcing her even closer to the fur-clad bundle of broodiness, and the next time she stumbled Bella was sure that Fili pushed her, so that she actually fell into Thorin. He grabbed her shoulder in a steely grip and set her upright again without a word or hardly a glance. With a muttered thanks, Bella tried her best to move out of sight. She had never missed Rivendell or home so much as she did now.

 

 

     Her desire for home increased tenfold when the company stumbled into the stone giant’s playground. Bella wasn’t quite sure how she held on in the mayhem, and then she wasn’t really holding on at all anymore, but with her fingertips. Once they had of course realized she was missing, the dwarves were very helpful in mission ‘save the burglar’. Even Thorin participated. But then of course being forced to show emotions and be helpful made him grouchy, and he reverted back to his resting state of shouting and insults. Feeling rather battered and over-full of emotions herself, Bella fell to the back of the group and wondered why Thorin had bothered to save her if her existence upset him so much.

 

                                   ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

 

     Bofur was of course the first one to notice that among the shocked forms huddled on the ledge, that of their diminutive burglar was absent. He always tried his best to keep tabs on her, since by nature she seemed to evade notice and had a penchant for attracting trouble. Trying his best to reach her, the quick thinking and instinct of their leader was what in the end saved the wee lass. Thorin seemed to have finally done something right in terms of social relations, but that only lasted the few moments it took him to get a good rant up.

 

     So he lingered in the back of the group and made sure that everyone, including their ‘lost’ burglar, made it safely into the cave. A strange thing it was too, to find an empty cave in the mountains, but it didn’t do to look a gift mine in the ore. Shaking off worrying thoughts, he set himself instead to making sure that his family was provided for. Bombur was displeased to have no fire on which to cook or warm themselves, but it was a sound reasoning, and so he grumbled to himself only. Bifur was a bit overexcited by the rockfall; it took a while for him to settle onto his bedroll and eat some cram. Finally done with his own domestics, Bofur looked up to see that the rest of the company were engaged in similar activities. Except…

 

 

     He thought at first that Ori was just staring at the wall, until he noticed the large toes sticking out from behind a cropping of rock near the edge of the cave. Snatching up a bit of dinner on the way, he headed over, careful to not sneak. It was doubtful he could sneak up on anyone with his boots anyway, but better to be safe. Their scribe was trying his valiant best to talk to the hobbit, but she seemed to be in a deep state of refusal, her face not even visible from where it was resting on her knees.

 

           “Come on Bella, I set your bedroll up already, and there’s cram being passed out. I know it’s not the best state of affairs, but we’re all right."

 

      When she finally answered, Bofur didn’t expect her voice to sounds quite as wavering as it did. “I’m fine here Ori, just keeping out of the way until I can go home. Don’t waste food on me, you’ll need it for the journey.”

 

          “Oh come on Bella. Thorin won’t be happy if he sees you’re not eating.”

 

          “Are you sure of that?” she replied fiercely, finally revealing a face that looked red and blotchy. “He seemed to be rather tired of my existence, last I checked. I think he would be quite relieved if I just faded away.”

 

     Ori looked rather shocked by the short and potent speech, and Bofur decided it might be a wise time to intervene. Speaking quickly to Ori, he convinced the lad that he would best serve the company by re-joining his brothers. Taking up his place, the miner crouched in front of their burglar, who now looked a bit ashamed.

 

          “I shouldn’t have been so short with him. Will you tell him I’m sorry?”

 

          “Aye lass, that I’ll do. I get the feeling there’s some things you need to be getting off your chest first though. Tell me, why are you under the impression that our company leader would prefer you dead?”

 

          “Well, not dead. Just not around, not on the journey… He always says the rudest things, and he doesn’t even realize. I get that this whole thing is about what I can do for the company, and that I’m just here to perform a task, but hobbits can’t divide things that easily.” Bella wiped her leaking face angrily. “Our emotions have a way up tangling up through everything like runner beans. I tried my hardest to prove myself to him, and he just steamrolls over it, pointing out everything I did wrong without even seeming to appreciate how much I did manage to accomplish. Maybe it’s something to do with being royalty, everyone always tries so hard to stay around him that he’s gotten used to it.”

 

     She shrunk back in on herself, hiding behind a curtain of curls. Bofur had to smother his urge to reach out and move them back so he could see her beautiful sad face. Then her voice once more ventured forth, muffled in her knees. “I just wish I was enough for someone for once, just me, not what I can do or how I can best be of use. Just me, the dumpy little hobbit spinster with a temper and love of books.”

 

 

     This side of their willful burglar came as rather a shock to Bofur. She had always been so strong and determinedly cheerful, through ponies and rain and even bloody trolls. It was apparently enough of a shock that his stronger mind momentarily slipped, because rather without his permission his body had moved forward, his knees giving way so that he slumped awkwardly into the smaller lass, his breath whooshing out as he hit her bent knees. Bella herself let out a squeak of surprise, but didn’t have time to do much more than that because her mouth was forcibly preoccupied with a rather whiskery partner.

 

     Bofur would never be so glad to brag that his kiss had caused its recipient to melt; Bella’s knees gave up their position lodged in his chest and moved slowly so that he was almost completely blanketing her with his body. He finally allowed his hands to cup her face as they had been yearning to do since that first night in Hobbiton, and caged a groan in his throat as he learned that yes, it was just as soft as it looked. Thoughts began running faster and faster ahead of his hands, supplying ideas of how soft the rest of her would be in comparison, but Bofur clamped down on them as best he could. There were more important things needing addressed than the growing discomfort in his breeches.

 

     Breaking his lips away (it was much harder than first reckoned), Bofur allowed them to quickly adore the smooth expanse of neck displayed before focusing.

 

          “Bella.”

 

     The hobbit in question did not reply, seemed rather in fact to not be capable of speech at the present moment. (He would gloat to himself about that later)

 

          “I don’t claim to know your past, but from the way you spoke, it must not have been full of many decent folk. And I know Thorin has treated you right terrible this whole trip. He’s a royal git, and no mistake.”

 

     This earned him a reaction at last, a watery smile that still looked too sad, so he pressed on with his speech.

 

          “I can’t put myself in other people’s shoes, but how anyone could see you as anything other than a wonder is beyond my knowing. You have astounded me from the very first, Bella, and you have always been more to me. More than I could have expected, more than I thought possible, more than I had ever dreamed of. And you will always be more than enough for me, if you’ll have me.”

 

 

     Bofur was very proud of his speech, and an answer would have been nice, but he supposed that a kiss was answer enough for now. And the thunderstruck look on Thorin’s face when he eventually realized what he had missed would be reward enough later. Besides, there were many lovely rewards closer at hand.

 

 

 

     Unbeknownst to the newly realized couple in the corner, their exchange had been noted by a pair of young and thoroughly put out dwarves.

 

          “Bu-but, she was supposed to fall for Uncle!” Kili spluttered, looking for all the world as if a troll had just knocked over his first stone fort. Fili laid a comforting hand upon his shoulder, sharing the moment of despair with him.

 

          “Not your fault Ki. It was a good plan, if only Uncle wasn’t so dense and slow on the uptake. It seems our burglar has rather found her own way.” Nodding sadly in agreement, Kili allowed himself to be led away by his brother to find some dinner.

 

 

 

 

~Finis~ 

 


End file.
